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The roaring fire cast a warm glow throughout the room and its shadows flickered over every nearby surface.
Tall flames crackled strongly, and the sound provided the perfect soundtrack for Dina as she firmly pressed her lips to Ellie’s. She felt hot all over from both the fireplace and the flush of being kissed slowly and deeply, by her girlfriend. Ellie’s lips were like a drug: completely intoxicating and always left her craving more.
They sat next to each other on a plush rug on the floor, backs pressed against the foot of the sofa behind them, with Ellie’s body turned into her.
Dina’s shoulders were wrapped up tightly in Ellie’s left arm with the lanky women’s hand holding the nape of her neck firmly. Dina’s left-hand rested in her favourite spot over Ellie’s heart and their free hands, clasped together, laid in Ellie’s lap.
The red wine delivered from Jackson enhanced the kiss and Dina sighed heavily through her nose into Ellie’s cheek in satisfaction.
Time had no meaning as Maria and Tommy had taken the energetic JJ with them after their visit early visit in the morning and left the two without parental duties for the next few days.
They had spent the rest of the day lounging around doing nothing particularly significant. Dina spent the early evening curled up in the hammock on the porch with a book from an old spy series. She was pretty sure she was reading them out of order but that was the unfortunate reality of living in a world where any intact book was a good find, let alone books belonging to the same series.
Living on the Farmhouse once again meant that wine, literature and other luxuries were a treat, delivered every two weeks when they met up with Jesse’s parents or Maria and Tommy.
To the best of Dina’s knowledge, Ellie had been locked away in her art study as she’d worked on an undisclosed project. “Don’t try to seduce your way into the secret babe. I ain’t giving in that easy this time,” Ellie had joked with a wide grin and playful slap to her ass when Dina reluctantly walked away.
The memory caused Dina to grin broadly against Ellie’s soft, sweet lips and eventually became too wide to maintain the kiss.
Ellie leant back and heaved in oxygen at a much faster rate than normal. Ellie’s change of hand position from her neck to her lower back sent a river of magma through Dina’s body and she leant in for another quick kiss.
“What’s so funny?” Ellie asked with flushed cheeks and eyes illuminated by the fire.
Dina shook her head, “Nothing. Just wondering when you’re finally going to tell me about that secret project you’ve been working on.”
The corner of Ellie’s lip twitched in amusement and Dina once again felt the urge to smother them with her own.
Both of Ellie’s hands wrapped around her waist and Ellie looked comfortable despite the awkward angle. “If I told you. I’d have to kill you.”
Dina reared her head back in shock, “You’ve been reading my books.”
“Yeah,” Ellie whispered and kissed Dina’s neck, mouth open and wet.
“You?”
“Hhmm.”
“Reading?”
Ellie met Dina’s eyes with her own narrowed ones, “I do read you know.”
Dina grinned pacifyingly, “I know babe. I know. But you usually stick to comics. Not exactly challenging material.”
“Hey!” Ellie protested.
In a manoeuvre too smooth for Dina to rationally comprehend, Ellie lifted her and laid her flat on the floor. She crawled over her, legs outside her hips and pinned her hands above her head.
Just a few years ago, this type of action would have triggered every fight or flight instinct inside her. Now, however, seven years post-Seattle and the Time Without Ellie, all Dina felt was pure heat when her girlfriend settled her weight down on her.
“Apologise,” Ellie stated firmly, settled and comfortable.
“You’ll never take me alive,” Dina denied playfully and thrust her hips in a bid for freedom.
The position of their bodies combined with Dina’s wiggling caused Ellie to inhale sharply and the forest green eyes Dina loved so much darkened with each thrust.
Ellie leaned down and captured her lips in a wet, heated kiss left her breathless.
Eventually, Ellie, only after ensuring that her knees had turned to mush, backed away into an upright position and released Dina’s wrists. “I quite like having you like this. We should do this more often.”
Dina, suitably distracted, hummed in agreement until the words clocked in her brain, “What just happened?”
Ellie raised her left eye cockily, “I just rocked your world?”
Dina huffed in amusement and cupped Ellie’s cheeks with her hands, “Oh really? You pin me down once and suddenly you’re a gift to all women?”
Ellie wrapped her hands underneath Dina and lifted her deftly. She manoeuvred herself so she was sitting cross-legged against the foot of the sofa again with Dina sat comfortably in her lap.
“Not all women,” Ellie disagreed.
“Oh,” Dina drew out, moved her arms to wrap around Ellie’s neck and looked into her eyes, “Just me then?”
Ellie kissed the underside of Dina’s chin, “You’re the only one who matters.”
Dina grinned, “You sap!”
A deep flush, just visible in the light provided from the flames, rose across Ellie’s cheeks and nose.
“I love you,” Ellie murmured.
Dina's eyes softened as they did every time Ellie expressed her feelings and said those three words. “I love you too. Always.”
Ellie’s hands tightened their hold on Dina’s waist, “I have a song I want to play for you.”
Dina lit up, “Yes!” She eagerly jumped off Ellie’s lap and sat cross-legged in front of the fire on top of the cushions they had placed on the rug.
Ellie got up and walked to the same acoustic guitar gifted to her all those years ago. It was still cared for but worn in with slight wear in the most used frets and a few scratches on the body and pickguard.
She got comfortable on the rug in front of Dina and placed her the fingers of her right hand on the fretboard.
Ellie heaved in a deep breath, “I wrote this a few years ago. Remember that night we couldn’t get JJ to sleep in his bed, so we came down here and had a ‘camping trip’ to try and exhaust him?”
Dina nodded gently and grinned at the memory, “Of course. You used your flashlight to made puppet shadows.”
Ellie laughed and rubbed the back of her neck with her left hand, “Yeah. Well hours later, it must have been nearing two, I looked over at you. You were lying down with JJ resting against you and…”
Ellie trailed off in memory of the awe she felt in that moment. “You looked so tired stroking our boy’s hair, but you had never looked more beautiful than right then.”
Dina’s eyes had started to water but she held the imminent onslaught back as long as she could. She rocked up on her knees, legs still crossed, held her weight on her fists and captured Ellie’s lips in a slow embrace.
Ellie hummed in content and nudged her back after a few long seconds. She waited until Dina had resettled herself.
“So here it goes.”
Ellie positioned her left hand over the soundhole and began to pluck the strings delicately.
I found a love for me
Darling, just dive right in
And follow my lead
Well, I found a girl, beautiful and sweet
I never knew you were the someone waiting for me
Learning to play left-handed had been incredibly disheartening for Ellie in the beginning. It made her feel like a complete beginner again, fumbling over the basic chords that she had already mastered as a young teen.
Dina, eager to keep learning after singing for her for the first time, was by her side through every step though. Even when she was on the brink of packing it up for good. That combined with the strong desire to keep a connection to Joel alive had helped her to persevere.
Well, I found a woman, stronger than anyone I know
She shares my dreams, I hope that someday I'll share her home
I found a love, to carry more than just my secrets
To carry love, to carry children of our own
Their eyes met over the verse.
Dina felt another unbearable flush of heat across her cheeks. She felt uncharacteristically bashful in the way that only Ellie could inspire in her.
She reached out to the small coffee table they had moved from the centre of the room to clasp tightly at the half-full wine glass. The sweet liquid did not quench her thirst but instead made her mouth and throat drier.
Baby, I'm dancing in the dark, with you between my arms
Barefoot on the grass, listenin' to our favourite song
I have faith in what I see
Now I know I have met an angel in person
And she looks perfect
I don't deserve this
You look perfect tonight
Ellie’s sweet voice whispered the final few sentences and tapered out as she played a gorgeous instrumental to end the song. When she finished, she released a shaky breath, removed the guitar from her lap to rest on the floor next to her and played nervously with her fingers.
“Oh Ellie,” Dina breathed hoarsely. She hastily wiped the tears that had escaped her eyes and sniffled her way through the smile across her lips.
“Did you like it?” Ellie asked characteristically shy and uncertain.
Dina laughed in disbelief, “Of course I did. Ellie, I loved it.” She closed the distance between them and resumed her spot in Ellie’s lap.
Dina kissed Ellie deeply, “I love you.”
Ellie smiled, “I love you.”
Dina sniffled again and wrapped her arms around Ellie's neck, “You’re such a sap.”
Ellie squeezed her girlfriends’ hips and laid her head against the warm chest in front of her, “Yeah,” she whispered. “Yeah, I am.”
Eventually, after the fire had started to dwindle, Dina pulled back, “Why now? You said you wrote it years ago.”
Ellie shrugged, “I was saving it for a special occasion like tonight.”
Two dark eyebrows wrinkled in confusion, “What’s so special about tonight?” Dina asked and moved her hands to rest on Ellie’s broad shoulders.
Ellie reached into her jean pocket with her right hand and clasped around something, “My secret project.”
Dina watched as Ellie held her fist out in front of her, palm up.
“I know these kinds of things aren’t as common or organised as they were in the old world. But I saw this in a safe out on patrol when we were scouting the expansion area last year and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”
Ellie opened her palm and Dina gasped at the silver ring nestled into the middle of Ellie’s palm. It was plain with the only embellishment being that one side looked like the metal had been twisted.
“Dina. You’re my soulmate. My best friend. The mother of my son. I would love it if you would accept this ring as a symbol of that?”
The previously wiped tears made another reappearance down Dina's cheeks and she swallowed past the tightness in her throat. “Ellie. I love you. We’re going to spend the rest of our lives together no matter what.”
Dina stroked Ellie’s cheeks with both hands and stared deeply into her eyes, “I will gladly wear your ring as a symbol of our connection.”
Ellie grinned so wildly into her palms, Dina thought it might be hurting the woman.
Ellie kissed Dina’s left ring finger, then the ring and gently slipped the band on.
Dina held her hand up in front of her face, “Like a glove.”
Ellie huffed in relief and leant back on her fists, “I’m glad because I had no idea if it would fit or not. I’ve got about five others in my study just in case.”
Dina laughed loudly, “Is that why you’ve kept me out of the room for so long?”
Ellie hummed in agreement, “Maria dropped them off earlier. I couldn’t have you stumbling across them.”
The ring-bearing hand pushed against Ellie’s chest until she was flat on the ground with Dina hovering over her.
They kissed deeply until the dying embers of the fire had vanished into nothing and left them in darkness.
Dina, completely on top of Ellie rested her chin in her hands over Ellie’s chest, “You have more rings you said?”
“Yes,” Ellie replied, apprehensive of the mischievous glint in Dina’s eyes.
“So,” Dina drew out and grinned. “Technically there’s one for you as well?”
“Technically.”
“It would be really nice if you wore one,” Dina whispered.
Ellie stroked Dina’s back slowly, “It would. There just so happens to be one that fits me.”
“Oh? How lucky.”
“I’d have to wear it on a different finger though.”
Dina smiled gently, “Doesn’t matter. Take me upstairs.”
The pair rose from the floor and made their way to the staircase. Just as Ellie was about to take the first step, Dina jumped up onto her back and wrapped her legs around her waist.
“Damn it, woman!”
“Oh, stop it you big baby! I heard this was a tradition in the old world.” Dina exclaimed once she was held securely by Ellie’s hands under her legs.
Ellie scoffed, “Whoever told you that was clearly messing with you.”
Dina hushed her and pointed to the top of the stairs, “Onward! I have a ring to put on you.”
Ellie playfully rolled her eyes, “The things I do for you.”
“I love you,” Dina offered.
Ellie looked over her shoulders and softened, “I love you too.”